


Chronicles

by Mewr11



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-14 20:32:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11215752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mewr11/pseuds/Mewr11
Summary: This is a novel-form retelling of the Kingdom Hearts storyline. Kingdom Hearts has too rich of a narrative to confine its story to only those who play video games.





	Chronicles

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Kingdom Hearts](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/300174) by Square Enix. 



> I do not own any of the characters or content of this work. All Kingdom Hearts IP characters are copyright of Square Enix Holding Co Ltd. All Final Fantasy IP characters are copyright of Square Enix Holding Co Ltd. All characters from Disney movies are copyright of the Walt Disney Company. All dialogue copyright of Square Enix Holding Co Ltd.
> 
> If either Square Enix or AO3 believes this work to be against their respective terms and conditions or EULAs, they may contact me at mewr.11.coding@gmail.com
> 
> If you as a reader believe this to be against Square Enix or AO3's terms and conditions, please contact whichever them about this.
> 
> With that out of the way, let's get on to the story.

* * *

* * *

I've been having these wierd thoughts lately...

  
                                   wierd  
               having  
  
  
  
                            Real?  
                                         Not?  
  
Like, is any of this real, or not?  
  
  
                             Real  
                                              ?

  
Falling.  
            Down  
                     Down  
                               Down.

Through...  
                  What, exactly?

I land on a beach. This is my island, isn't it? Squinting through the sun, I see Riku. But he seems to be flickering...

Friends don't flicker, right?

The tide pulls out, forming a massive stalling tsunami. Riku, or whatever flicker of him I see, beckons me in. But for what? Wouldn't we die?

I run for him, reach for him, search for him...

The water hits me. Staggering, swimming, I struggle against the current assaulting me. Riku is perfectly still, unaffected by this monstrous current, standing strong and solid despite the water that surrounds the both of us. He reaches for me, and I for him, but the current prooves too strong. It pulls me away, dragging me deeper, yet closer to the surface. Riku still stands tall.

I surface, just beyond the shore of the island. I seem to be in the same spot, though where it was just high noon, the sun now sets. Kairi beckons, and I come to her. Smiling and panting from the effort of wading to the shore, it seems to have been just as it always was. And it is. Except...

Meteors strike. Streams of blue light, all around the island, streaking down from the heavens. And among them, me. But that can't be. I'm standing right here, on the ground. And yet, as solid as the ground was mere seconds before, I fall. I see Kairi above me, I see sky below me. I fall onto the ground feet below me, I fall into the sea, three stories below my now downturned head. I break the surface of the water, Kairi's head disappearing in an undulating blip on the sea.

Still I fall, through the same substance as before I landed on my island. What is it? Bubbles form, yet I still breath. I land on the seafloor, or whatever you call the bottom of a sea made not of water, but of this weightless, breathable liquid. Terminology is not the greatest of my worries, however. I take a step, transforming this floor into a bevy of doves, revealing a pristine, glowing stained-glass portrait. A white woman with black hair and a blue and yellow dress, surrounded by seven bearded men, surrounded further by all the fauna of the forest. Where I thought the seafloor extended beyond my sight, the edge of the glass seems to drop into the abyss.

  
                      So much to do,  
  
                                                      So little time.

 

A voice filters into my head. Where from, I do not know.

  
                      Take your time.  
  
                                                      Don't be afraid.  
  
                               The door is still shut.

  
I find it difficult to follow the instructions not to be afraid.

  
                      Now, take a step forward.  
  
                                                      Can you do it?

  
Tentatively, I take a step forward.

  
                      Power sleeps within you.  
  
                                                      If you give it form...  
  
                               It will give you strength.

  
As these words manifest themselves in my mind, three pillars raise from the glasswork. The first, a red shield, embossed with a strange motif of three circles, one large, with two smaller ones arranged, touching the first towards the top. It evokes the shape of a stylized mouse's head, or perhaps an elephant without a trunk. On the second lies a staff, oak handle with a shimmering blue... thing... at the end. This... thing... forms the same motif as the shield, albeit made of spheres instead of circles. On the final pedestal, a sword. Steel blade, appears quite sharp. Golden brass hand guard, blue handle. On the crossbar, the exact same motif as the shield.

  
                      The power of the guardian.  
                      Kindness to aid friends.  
                      A shield to repel all.  
  
                               The power of the mystic.  
                               Inner strength.  
                               A staff of wonder and ruin.  
  
                                                      The power of the warrior.  
                                                      Invincible courage.  
                                                      A sword of terrible destruction.  
  
                               Is this the path you seek?

  
The voice prompts me to choose one of these three to seek, and one to discard. I choose to seek the path of the warrior, and discard the path of the guardian.

As soon as I have decided, the pillars crumble into the floor. Then the floor itself crumbles, shattering into innumerable shards. This beautiful glasswork? Ruined. Myself? I fall to the abyss along with the shards.

I land on another stained-glass portrait, this one of a graceful brunette. Where on the previous landing, the woman was surrounded by dwarfs, this woman is surrounded by a castle, a crown, and a pumpkin with wheels. Where the fauna was before, now shows delicate slippers and a dance. As I descend, I find myself slowing down, completely throwing off my sense of gravity and direction.

  
                      You've gained the power to fight.  
  
                                                      Use this power to protect yourself and others.

  
A sword appears in my hand. I swing it around a few times, testing its weight. What looks like a shadow appears, though no light exists to create it, nor is there an object to cast it. Then the shadow peels itself off the floor, its beady yellow eyes staring through my heart. I remember the voice telling me not to fear. I ignore its advice. This first shadow crawls towards me; I swing my newfound sword at it. As I swing my sword, four more appear, likewise originating from nothing. As soon as the first goes down, however, all four fizzle from existence. The respite doesn't last. The three that fizzled, along with two new brethren, reappear, and no longer retreat as soon as one gets hit. One manages to rake its claws against me. It is a strange feeling, as these beings have no substance. Just a feeling of cold and pain, like a frozen knife, but without any physical damage. Again I wonder what I have gotten myself into, or, rather, what this voice has gotten me into.

Darkness envelopes the glass, and, somehow, I sink in. A swirling whirlpool of purple and black pulls me further under.

When I stop struggling, I find myself on a third floor of stained glass, this one not a portrait. Bright pinks and whites form a sort of stylized butterfly. I wonder how long this floor will last. An ornate marble door stands at the other side of this platform, though no walls form a barrier to the other side. The rational part of my brain figures I can just walk around it; any part of my brain that's been paying any attention at all through this ordeal knows that won't work. I walk up to the door, examining it, realizing that I cannot open it. As if sensing my thoughts, or, perhaps, literally sensing my thoughts, a chest appears where I first found myself. Opening the chest creates a large crate in the center of the platform, which makes about as much sense as anything else that's happened in this glass-filled abyss. Smashing open the crate reveals a potion inside. I guess it would have been too easy to put the potion inside of the chest. Hopefully, this is a helpful potion not an aphrodisiac or poison or something like that. Shattering the crate has also seemed to unlock the door. Opening it, a bright light streams out.

  
                      Hold on.  
  
                                                      The door won't open just yet.  
  
                               Tell me more about yourself.

  
Dammit. Back on my island. I'm on the ship-turned-fortress that Selphie, Waka, and Tidus make their daytime getaway. Apparently, this voice, or whoever controlls it, can see enough of my memories to re-create my island, but not enough to know what I'm afraid of. After telling Tidus my fear of age, Selphie my goal of being the best, and Waka that I wish to see the world, the voice speaks again.

  
                      Your adventure begins at dawn.  
  
                                                      As long as the sun is shining, your journey should be a pleasant one.

  
I've decided I don't like the voice, but I like having the sun on my side.

  
                               The day you will open the door is both far off and very near.

  
Well.

I'm back on a stained-glass portrait. A blonde this time, sweeping purple dress. Three fairies surround this one, as do a tangle of thorny vines. Roses form the edge of this platform. I wonder what horrors await me here...

No voice appears within my head. Strange. I take a step forward, then another. Still nothing. Have I escaped? As I reach the end of the platform, the sword I chose appears in my hand. I hear the now-familiar sound of shadows taking form. Escape seems to still elude me.

Upon defeating the seven shadows, a bright light streams down from above. The edge of its rays seem to light with a white fire. Upon inspection, no heat eminates from it, and it seems to softly beckon to me. I step into the light, noticing that I do not cast a shadow. The circle is strangely soothing, and the pain that came from the shadow's claws subsides. The spotlight splits, one beam staying above me, another gliding across the platform. It reaches the end, disappears. A staircase materializes, one step at a time. At the end of the staircase, another platform. This platform, unlike the ones before it, or the staircase, seems to be the top of a pillar. The stained glass theme continues, although I can't yet make out the image on the top of this new platform.

I reach the top of the staircase, which I note as being the only connection between two platforms I've come across so far. This platform shows a brown-haired girl in a sweeping yellow dress. Peering out behind her is a strange and horrifying beast, an upright bear with vicious fangs and horns.

  
                      The closer you get to the light,  
  
                                                      the greater your shadow becomes.

  
Well, that's just basic science. Or math. Depends on how you want to look at it. I notice my shadow, which appeared for the first time behind me. It stretches off of the platform. I must be close to the light now, although I'm not sure what that means. Am I about to die?

My shadow crawls out of the ground, like the other shadows before.

  
                                            But don't be afraid.

  
I still find this instruction difficult to follow. I back away from my shadow, who is now contorting into a form not dissimilar from the beast depicted on the platform.

  
                                            And don't forget...

  
I run away from my now looming shadow, with its glowing yellow eyes, mess of tendril-like hairs, and heart-shaped hole in its chest. In my panic, I don't even realize the edge of the platform, almost tripping over its edge. The sword reappears in my hand - a nifty trick, whenever I'm in danger - but the giant shadow curls his right hand, gathering a strange purple energy. His hand glows white in the center, and then he plunges it into the platform. A swrilling darkness envelopes it, spawning out more and more of the smaller shadows. I fight them off, and this giant shadow pulls his hand out of the ground. Next, he curls himself up, and launches a sphere of the foreign energy right towards me. I have no choice but to attempt to parry with my sword. Swinging wildly, out of desperation, I hit the orb, sending it back towards the giant. He recoils as it hits him, a good sign. He also sends another at me, a sign I take as less than good. I keep parrying, he keeps sending. Then he sends three orbs towards me at once. A broad stroke sends two back to their maker, but the third soars wide. Across the platform, I see the third orb explode. Good thing I've parried all of them so far. He plunges his hand back into the platform, summoning four more shadows from the depths. As I grow more accustomed to this place, the shadows seem easier to defeat. Then the giant goes back to launching orbs. Three orbs, I parry. Three orbs, I parry. Three orbs, I parry. Then he sends five orbs my way. Four of them I manage to launch back at him. The fifth strikes me in the chest. Not as damaging as I had feared, but much, much worse than the claws of the shadows. The giant goes down, but I have a searing pain in my chest. As the giant falls, he staggers towards me. I fall back, out of fear and pain. And then, he opens another dark whirlpool right below me.

  
                      -- But don't be afraid.  
  
                                                      You hold the mightiest weapon of all.

  
The voice does little to comfort me as I fall into the darkness.

  
                      So don't forget:  
  
                                                      You are the one who will open the door.


End file.
